All Dressed Up: The Write Office

I met Michelle Newman at a writers’ conference and when she mentioned something about her home office, I asked if I could feature it on Working Naked. She gave me a strange look that was somewhere between What the Hell? and She doesn’t look like she runs a porn site. After I described the site to her, she quickly agreed. It helped that we were at a cocktail reception and the wine was flowing freely.

Writing can be boring, lonely, and challenging, so the right home office can make a difference between a space that sparks your creativity and one that makes you bang your head against the wall. Michelle Newman, a humor writer and columnist, has created a space that is not only inspiring, it’s comfortable and inviting. Michelle writes the phenomenally funny and insightful blog, You’re my favorite today, is a community contributor at Entertainment Weekly, and is a contributor to two books: I Just Want to Pee Alone and I Just Want to Be Alone. All of this writing, inspiration, and creativity comes from her beautiful home office in Minnesota.

Michelle makes every square inch of her home office count. The oak built-ins along one wall make full use of floor to ceiling space, and include plenty of room to display photos and store books. The cabinets below are ideal for stashing supplies or anything else that doesn’t need to be displayed openly.

Instead of using a traditional (boring) file cabinet to hold her printer and supplies that typically would be thrown into a desk drawer, Michelle uses a 3-tier basket shelf. Her drawer less desk is sleek and modern, and has enough space to hold her monitor and stacking trays. Hidden on each side of the desk is a small pullout tray. In between the built-ins and her desk is a club chair in a colorful floral pattern that picks up the soothing wall color. A comfortable chair next to the window is the perfect place to curl up with a book (electronic or the real deal) or relax while thinking of the next big idea.

Michelle spends her days making others laugh, but seriously, her office hits the trifecta of home offices: it’s full of style, it’s fabulous, and, best of all, it’s functional.

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I left the corporate world over 20 years ago and have been working from home commute-free, boss-free, and annoying-co-worker-free ever since. On Working Naked® you’ll learn proven techniques to improve the way you work from home including, productivity tips, balancing your home and office life, home office design tips, and more.
—Lisa Kanarek